Emily Rucker

Cleopatra at the Mall

In this thought-provoking documentary, filmmaker Madeline Hunt-Ehrlich delves into the rediscovery of Edmonia Lewis's monumental sculpture, The Death of Cleopatra (1876).

If I Die in America

According to Muslim practice, burial ought to occur within 24 hours of death — so after Manny’s immigrant husband, Sameer, passes away in an accident, he is confronted by a representative of Sameer’s family urging him to sign the paperwork needed to ship the body back to Kuwait. Manny initially refuses, clinging to his rights as Sameer's husband, while knowing that with every passing hour, Sameer's family grows more infuriated. After an emotional climax, spurred on by the family’s homophobic claim that Manny and Sameer’s marriage was merely a green-card arrangement, Manny comes to realize that his objections won't change the fact that his husband died — try as he might, he cannot delay grief.

The Ballad of Suzanne Césaire

An actress, three months post-partum, reads through fragments of the archive of Suzanne Césaire as she prepares to perform excerpts of the writer's work.

Peas

A droll coming-of-age story set in suburban New York, following a young girl as she watches her mother go on a date for the first time since her father's death.